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Winn Hopes for Another Magical Run

TAMPA, Fla. — One year out of high school, Randy Winn had a marvelous view of college basketball at its best. He was sitting on the Santa Clara bench the night in 1993 when the 15th-seeded Broncos, fueled by a scrappy guard named Steve Nash, upset second-seeded Arizona in what remains one of the greatest upsets in N.C.A.A. tournament history. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City pulsated with energy.

“It was special,” Winn said. “Very, very special.”

Winn, 35, is still searching for a comparable feeling. Across 12 major league seasons, he has amassed 1,710 hits and developed a reputation for being an expert defensive outfielder, a sharp base runner and a great teammate. But no active player has appeared in more regular-season games — 1,601 — without reaching the postseason, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

For every Jason Marquis, whose teams have reached the postseason every year of his decade-long career, there is a Damion Easley, who ceded the dubious distinction to Winn after his own career ended in 2008 without a postseason appearance. Easley played 17 major league seasons, and three times, including consecutive seasons with the Mets, his teams were eliminated in their final game.

In joining the Yankees, of course, Winn has improved his odds. That was the antidote last year for Jerry Hairston Jr., whose single — in the first playoff plate appearance of his 12-year career — ignited a 13th-inning rally in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series.

“I hope it’s this year, but I’ve hoped it’s this year for a lot of years,” Winn said. “I truly understand that nothing is guaranteed.”

That motto has lorded over his career. He was, after all, once traded for a manager, dealt to Seattle after the 2002 season when Tampa Bay hired Lou Piniella. Winn made his only All-Star team that season, the same year Nash, a two-time N.B.A. most valuable player, made his first of seven.

Photo

Randy Winn, right, with Curtis Granderson. Credit
Barton Silverman/The New York Times

They became fast friends at Santa Clara after arriving together as freshmen in 1992, the walk-on and the top recruit. In two seasons as a backup guard, Winn played 22 games and averaged 6.3 minutes and 1.5 points. In comments relayed by the Suns, Nash described him as “very quick and athletic, a good penetrator and a decent shooter.”

Winn said while nodding, “That’s a very fair evaluation.”

With Nash entrenched as a starter, Winn dropped basketball in his junior year to concentrate on baseball. That year, he was selected by the Florida Marlins in the third round of the draft and began his professional career.

Still, Winn can still boast that he was once lived with Nash and four other athletes in a three-bedroom house. It was messy — very messy — as dishes piled up for weeks.

“You know, typical college stuff,” Winn said.

Winn joked that it had been so long since he picked up a basketball that his jump shot has turned into a set shot. Yet at a Los Angeles Clippers game in 2002, Winn showed off his skills. Randomly chosen to take a halfcourt shot, he banked it in, winning a car, which he gave to his mother.

“I’ve never had a chance to play a game of one-on-one with him, but I don’t think I’d stand much of a chance,” said Dave Roberts, a former teammate of Winn’s in San Francisco and a close friend, in a telephone interview. “Randy’s never brought up those days, at least not with me. He’s a baseball player now.”

Maybe so, but Nash and Winn remain connected. They call and text each other regularly, and as often as their schedules have allowed over the years, they make time to see each other. In a game a few years ago, Winn hit a home run off an Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher. Nash stood and cheered. There were quizzical looks from nearby fans, but so what.

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Winn was on the bench for Santa Clara’s tournament upset of Arizona in 1993. But he has never played in baseball’s postseason.Credit
Santa Clara Media Relations

“That’s called loyalty,” Winn said. “For me, in the N.B.A., I’ve been a Suns fan, I’ve been a Mavericks fan and now I’m back to being a Suns fan. Wherever Steve is, that’s the team I root for.”

And because Nash spends much of his summer off-season living in Manhattan, he will now be able to stand and cheer for Winn at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees value Winn’s versatility and believe that he can move past last season’s struggles, when his offense plummeted. He hit just .262, after having hit .306 the year before, and his home runs dropped to 2 from 10. Winn also batted .158 against left-handed pitchers, the lowest average among players who had at least 100 appearances against left-handers.

“I don’t think it had to do with age or slowing down or bat speed or anything like that,” Winn said. “I was just terrible.”

It was just as bad away from the field: his father-in-law was found to have cancer last March and died in July. His wife, Blessings, was pregnant, and Winn grew worried about her health, too. The only good moment came Sept. 8, when their son, Shannon, was born.

“He would never admit it, but sure, it weighed on him,” Roberts said. “You start worrying about the baby, you’re trying to find a cure for the cancer — there’s a lot that went on that people don’t know about. But the thing is, he never made excuses. He showed up every single day to play.”

Which he will do this season as a Yankee, with Nash dropping in to cheer him on.

A version of this article appears in print on February 23, 2010, on page B17 of the New York edition with the headline: Winn Hopes For Another Magical Run. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe